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HISTORY® and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Award Scholarships to Winners of the National Civil War Student Challenge



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More than $30,000 in college scholarships presented to high school Civil War buffs from across the country

Boston -- May 17th, 2011 -- Today, award–winning cable network HISTORY® and global education leader Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) announced the scholarship winners of The National Civil War Student Challenge — a nationwide contest in which students from across the country put their Civil War knowledge to the test. In addition to the $15,000 scholarship grand prize, HISTORY and HMH will award a $7,500 first–place scholarship, a $5,000 second–place scholarship and seven $1,000 third–place scholarships.

Over 22,000 students participated in the Civil War outreach initiative through preparation on an innovative Facebook–based game, studying with Civil War curriculum materials and taking the online Challenge in April. The 30 top–scoring finalists were then invited to take an in–school final exam to determine the scholarship winners.

Of the students from all 50 states who took the Challenge, the top winners include:

  • Grand Prize Winner: Kade Long of Joshua High School in Joshua, Texas
  • First Prize Winner: Alexander Frey of St. Joseph High School in Metuchen, New Jersey
  • Second Prize Winner: Tyler Leard of Wissahickon Senior High School in Ambler, Pennsylvania
“These young people have demonstrated so effectively how having a firm understanding of history can shape one′s future. There is nothing theoretical about the scholarships they have won or the leg up it will give them in college,” said Libby O′Connell, Chief Historian, SVP Corporate Outreach for AETN. “I′m quite confident that their love of history will guide them to many other great achievements in the years to come.”

“HMH is committed to transforming the educational experience through innovative approaches that inspire achievement and a lifelong love of learning,” said Samuel Casey Carter, Senior Vice President of Global Corporate Social Responsibility for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Executive Director of the HMH Foundation. “This partnership is bringing history to life all across the country and we are thrilled for the students who have earned scholarship prizes today.”

HISTORY and HMH sponsored the Challenge as part of their observance of the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. Over the next four years, HISTORY will air a comprehensive lineup of Civil War–themed programming, exploring all aspects of this pivotal chapter in American history.

HISTORY first joined forces with HMH in September 2010 to revolutionize the teaching and learning of history and social studies by combining HISTORY′s multimedia assets with HMH′s curricula and approach, creating dynamic learning environments that weave experience–based content with traditional instruction. HISTORY and HMH kicked off this partnership last fall with We The People LIVE, a star–studded live Constitution Day educational event in Washington, D.C., that was simultaneously webcast to more than 4,000 schools nationwide and featured illustrative video excerpts from HISTORY′s award–winning epic television event America The Story of Us.